Biography
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Years Active
1997 – present (26 years)
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Members
- Yasmine Hamdan (1997 – present)
- Zeid Hamdan (1997 – present)
Soap Kills (a.k.a. Soapkills) is a Lebanese trip-hop duo consisting of Yasmine Hamdan and Zeid Hamdan. They compose melancholic electronic arrangements influenced by classical Arabic repertoire (محمد عبد الوهاب, Asmahan) and diverse contemporary musical moods, such as Chet Baker, Massive Attack, and Portishead.
Soapkills was born when Zeid Hamdan and Yasmine Hamdan (although they share a surname they are not related) met each other in October 1997. The group's sound was initially dominated by a Roland MC-303 Groovebox, which Zeid had acquired to replace musicians after the dissolution of Lombrix, a rock band that he had founded in mid-1990s with Yasmine and others. A cult group in Lebanon, they represent the new electro scene currently blossoming in the Middle East. The band has released three studio albums to date, respectively Bater in 2001, Cheftak in 2002 and Enta Fen in 2005. Their music appeared on several compilations and was featured in many movies, theatre and dance productions, as well as in modern art installations. Elia Suleiman's cult movie "Divine Intervention" featured two of the band's tracks. In 2007, Soapkills was mentioned in Time magazine as part of a "small but artistically significant rock scene" in Beirut. A "best of" compilation of their music was released in 2015 digitally and on other formats, together with re-issues of their three records.
Yasmine Hamdan was born in Beirut in 1976. She spent her childhood abroad, escaping the Lebanese civil war, eventually settling in Greece. She returned to her hometown after the end of the war and has attended the Conservatory of Arabic classical song in Beirut, studied at the Variety Studio in Paris. Hamdan also holds a License in Psychology from Sorbonne university. Her other projects in the years of inactivity in Soapkills include Y.A.S., a duo with Mirwais, which was formed in 2007, and the release of her debut solo record, [album artist=Yasmine HamdanYa Nass, in 2013 on Crammed Discs/Kwaidan.
Zeid Hamdan was born in Beirut in 1976 and spent his adolescence in Paris. He began his artistic trip acting in theatre and cinema. After returning to Beirut, he got involved in the local music scene, eventually working with or founding various bands and projects, including The New Government, Katibe 5, Shift Z, Kazamada and Zeid and The Wings. Zeid is regarded as one of the founding pioneers of the Lebanese underground indie scene.
Official blog: http://soapkills.blogspot.com/
Zeid's website: www.lebaneseunderground.com
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